- Capitalism and Alternatives -

free market bears...

In Reply to: The right to bear arms or the right to arm bears... posted by Samuel Day Fassbinder on October 23, 1999 at 10:43:08:

BTW, if one wants to see what life in a commodified government is like, there's always Russia -- any book on Russian crime, say "The wild East : crime and lawlessness in post-communist Russia / Victor M. Sergeyev," will reveal this. Andor and Summers' MARKET FAILURE claimed that the Russian economy was 40% controlled by protection rackets -- I have to wonder if that's 40% of the Russian economy, or a 40% take on 100% of the Russian economy. Everyone has to pay for some sort of protection service, and "competition" between different protection services only increases "effective demand" for protection, which serves as both offense and defense of course...

David Korten in a recent speech suggested - with only a tip if the tongue in his cheek - that: "Russia represents capitalism at its most advanced state of development". It is a country with no rules and no government, with the winners being the strongest and best organized.
(actually, a nice speech on "The Post Corporate World" - for those with "Real Audio" it's here.

Follow Ups:

• Link clarification bill October 25 1999 (0)